I will be in Austin for work in a couple weeks, and I was hoping to get a good run down on the best local beers and how hard they will be to find. Can someone that is plugged in give me the low down on the best craft beer stores, local breweries, best local shelf brews, and info on any limited release beers that will be available in mid June? I know this is asking a lot for someone to put all my requested info together, but I would be happy to stick a couple Nebraska Brewing Company (BA Black Betty, BA Hop God, BA Fathead, etc) in my bag for trade if that would help. Thanks!
Mike Here's a link to a spreadsheet I put together on local breweries, tours, bars and bottle shops. I've highlighted the ones I personally like the best, but that doesn't mean the other's aren't worth a look too. It just depends on where you are in town (Austin is pretty spread out) and what your transportation is like. CLICK HERE! Local breweries that bottle/can worth looking for would be Jester King, Hops & Grain, and Austin Beerworks. (512) is excellent but only bottle 1-2 beers a year, and have nothing bottled right now but lots of good stuff on tap. Live Oak is another great, tap-only local (Live Oak Hef is highly touted as one of the best hefs made). Also check seekabrew.com to compare what we get distribution of and what Nebraska gets, as that might give you some ideas of what to look for too. As for bottles in June, not sure exactly what will be on the shelves at that time, but if you're interested in doing some trading, I have a good amount of Jester King beers, as well as other good local beers that aren't on the shelf right now, so let me know if you want to work something out. Ken
